As a child, Turvey had a teddy bear named Mr Cuddles. When he was 18 years old, he went to university and studied biochemistry. At the end of the worst term of his life, several students broke into his room and destroyed Mr Cuddles.

At university, Turvey's nickname was "Turtle Turvey".

The new Cuddlesomes use jargon and catchphrases similar to those associated with the cartoon character of Bart Simpson from The Simpsons such as "Ay, caramba!" and "Eat my socks!".

The story includes a reference to eBay. The Doctor also makes use of the early 1990s catchphrase "hammer time." At one point, he also insists on driving a woman's car after she has had too much to drink, one of the few occasions since the Fourth Doctor gave up Bessie (TV: Robot) that the Doctor has driven a vehicle.

Cuddlesome was released on a free CD offered with DWM 393, along with a Director's Cut of Part One of The Mutant Phase. Davison was featured on the cover of the magazine, which included coverage of his appearance in the Time Crash mini-episode.

This is one of the few Fifth Doctor stories in which there is no companion present.